Written Answers to Questions

Friday 27 January 1995

TRANSPORT

Departmental Employees

Mrs. Maddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many
employees for which his Department is responsible were women (a) in 1991,
(b) in 1992, (c) in 1993 and (d) in 1994; and of these, how many were (i)
at grade 7 level, (ii) at grade 3 level, (iii) at executive officer level,
(iv) at administrative officer level and (v) at administrative assistant
level.

Mr. Norris: The Department's personnel information system records
the following information on women employees by year and grade:

Vehicle Excise Duty

Mrs. Ray Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he
will list the classes of vehicle currently exempt from vehicle excise duty
for which vehicle excise duty will become payable from 1 July; and if he
will give the amount of vehicle excise duty that will be payable in each
class.

Mrs. Ray Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what
amount of vehicle excise duty will be payable from 1 July by agricultural
tractors (a) used solely by farmers on their own land and (b) which use
public roads for less than six miles per week to travel from one field to
another.

Mr. Norris: The information is as follows:

(a) Nil.

(b) £35.

Mrs. Ray Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what
amount of vehicle excise duty is (a) payable on agricultural tractors in
Northern Ireland at present and (b) will be payable after 1 July; and what
exemptions there are from this duty.

Mr. Norris: The information is as follows:

(a) £35, but "nil" for those used on public roads for less than 6
miles per week when moving between different parts of privately-owned land,
and those used solely on private land. (b) £35. The only exemptions
from this duty will be for agricultural tractors used solely on private
land.

English Road Network (Expenditure)

Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what
has been the expenditure on the English road network by central Government
for each year from 1979 to 1994 in 1994 prices.

Mr. Watts: The information requested is available only on a
financial year basis. In 1993 94 prices, based on the GDP deflator,
expenditure on trunk roads in England was as follows:

Lockerbie

Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what
basis financial assistance was given to the relations of British nationals
in respect of proceedings arising from the Lockerbie air disaster.

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Mr. Norris: My Department agreed to meet the costs of legal
representation for the British relatives of victims of the Lockerbie
disaster at the fatal accident inquiry into the disaster. As the then
Secretary of State explained to the House on 5 July 1990, this offer
reflected the exceptional nature of the disaster--a crime perpetrated by
international terrorists which resulted in the destruction of a large
passenger aircraft in British airspace. There were therefore very special
reasons for departing from the practice that relatives' costs are not met
in fatal accident inquiries or inquests.

Coastguard Service

Mr. Ainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what the
hourly rate of pay for auxiliary coastguards in each financial year since
1984 85;

(2) how many (a) full-time coastguards and (b) auxiliary coastguards,
excluding rescue centre staff, were in post on 1 April 1984 and each year
since;

(3) what was the total payment made to auxiliary coastguards for (a) all
training, (b) training excluding rescue centres and (c) patrols in 1984 85
and each year since;

(4) what were the total budgets excluding rescue centres, for (a) each
region, (b) each district and (c) each sector for (i) full-time coastguards
and (ii) auxiliary coastguards in 1984 85 and each year since;

(5) what was the total number of paid hours for (i) patrol work and (ii)
training, excluding rescue centres, in (a) each region, (b) each district
and (c) each sector by auxiliary coastguards in 1984 85 and each financial
year since then;

(6) how many (a) full-time coastguards and (b) auxiliary coastguards were
in post in 1 April 1984 and each year since; (7) what was the total number
of unpaid hours worked by auxiliary coastguards for (a) training on coast
rescues, (b) training in rescue centres and (c) patrols in each region,
each district and each sector in 1984 85 and each year since;

(8) what was the total coastguard budget in each year from 1984 85 to date
at November 1994 prices; and what is the planned budget for 1995 96.

(9) how many sectors in each coastguard district have exhausted their
planned budget for the year for (a) auxiliary coastguard training for
rescue centres, (b) auxiliary coastguard training on coast rescue and (c)
patrols.

Mr. Norris [holding answer 26 January 1995]: These are
operational matters for the Coastguard agency. I have asked the chief
executive to write to the hon. Member.

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Letter from C. J. Harris to Mr. Nick Ainger,
dated 27 January 1995:

The Secretary of State for Transport has asked me to reply to your recent
Parliamentary Questions as these questions deal with operational matters,
for which I have responsibility as Chief Executive.

PQ 609/94/95. No sectors have exhausted their planned budgets for (a)
auxiliary coastguard training for rescue centres and (b) auxiliary
coastguard training on coast rescue. Among the 91 sectors four sectors have
exhausted their planned budgets for (c) patrols. The information requested
in PQ 611/94/95 is only available from 1990 and is detailed in the
following table:

The information requested in PQ 608/94/95 is detailed in the following
table:

Hourly rate of Hourly rate of
allowance for allowance for
Auxiliary Auxiliary in
Coastguards Charge
|0600-2000|2000-0600|0600-2000|2000-0600
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 April 1984-1 April 1985 |1.86 |2.10 |2.32 |2.62
1 April 1985-1 April 1986 |1.94 |2.19 |2.42 |2.74
1 April 1986-1 April 1987 |2.05 |2.32 |2.57 |2.90
1 April 1987-1 April 1989 |2.17 |2.45 |2.71 |3.06
1 April 1989-1 December 1991 |2.26 |2.55 |2.83 |3.20
1 December 1991-now |2.60 |2.93 |3.25 |3.68
The information requested in PQs 603/94/95, 605/94/95, 612/94/95 and 613/94/95
is not available in the format requested and could only be provided at
disproportionate cost.

London Underground

Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1)
if he will list for each London Underground line and for each four-week
period between 1 January and 31 December 1994, the number of fire and smoke
incidents, and the proportion that were (a) category A, (b) category B and
(c) category C;

(2) if he will list for each London Underground line and for each four-week
period between 1 January and 31 December 1994, the number and length of
station closures (a) exceeding 20 minutes during usual period for passenger
travel, (b) exceeding one hour during usual period for passenger travel,
(c) exceeding one day and (d) exceeding one week that were attributable to
(i) staff shortages or (ii) security alerts;

(3) if he will list for each London Underground line and for each four-week
period between 1 January and 31 December 1994, the number and length of (a)
attributable station closures, and (b) non-attributable station closures
(i) exceeding 20 minutes during usual period for rush hour travel, (ii)
exceeding one hour during usual period for passenger travel, (iii)
exceeding one day, (iv) exceeding one week and (v) exceeding one month; and
which stations closed during the period have yet to be re-opened;

(4) if he will list for each London Underground line and for each four-week
period between 1 January and 31 December 1994, the number of incidents,
including cancellations, which resulted in a headway of more than 20
minutes; and how many of these were (a) attributable and (b) non-
attributable;

(5) if he will list for each London Underground line and for each four-week
period between 1 January and 31 December 1994, the number of incidents,
including cancellations, which resulted in a headway of more than 20
minutes, and the number of these attributable to (a) train breakdown, (b)
signal failure, (c) track/points failure, (d) power failure, (e) derailment
or collision, (f) adverse weather conditions (including leaves on the line)
and (g) security alerts;

(6) what has been the number of (a) assaults and (b) robberies on each
London Underground station in (i) 1993 and (ii) 1994; (7) if he will list
for each London Underground line and for each four-week period between 1
January and 31 December 1994, the number and percentage of escalators out
of service;

(8) if he will list for each London Underground line the number of (a)
crimes of violence, (b) robberies and (c) other offences for each four week
period between 1 January and 31 December 1994.

Mr. Norris: These are operational matters for London Underground.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

Next Steps Agencies

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary Lord Chancellor's
Department if he will set out for each of the next step agencies in his
Department whether they have acquired their own headquarters buildings and,
if so, at what purchase cost of annual rental; how many support staff they
have required which were not required when their operations were within his
Department; how many

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of them publish periodical journals and at
what annual cost; how many have fleets of executive cars or single
executive cars and at what annual cost; how many have specially designed
logos and at what cost; how many have corporate clothing and at what cost;
and what is the cost of specially designed and printed corporate
stationery.

Mr. John M. Taylor: The Lord Chancellor is responsible for three
agencies: Her Majesty's Land Registry, the Public Record Office and the
Public Trust Office.

The agencies operate within the framework of demanding quality standards
and tight controls of costs and other financial targets as set out in the
White Paper, "The Civil Service: Continuity and Change", Cm 2627. Their
expenditure is subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

HM Land Registry and the Public Record Office were separate Government
Departments in their own right before becoming executive agencies reporting
to the Lord Chancellor. The Public Trust Office was, and remains, a self-
contained and separately accommodated unit within the Lord Chancellor's
Department. Agency status has not led to any additional expenditure on
accommodation at the Public Trust Office. The office makes a separate bid
for funding and has always had to plan to meet all its expenditure from fee
income. The establishment of executive agencies has, therefore, had no
impact on the overall expenditure of the Lord Chancellor's Department. A
record of the performance of individual agencies in improving efficiency
and effectiveness in Government is summarised in "Next Steps Review 1994",
Cm 2750.

As the right hon. Member's question concerns specific operational matters,
on which the chief executives of the three agencies are best placed to
provide answers, I have accordingly asked the chief executives to reply
direct.

Parliamentary Question: Expenditure by the Next Steps Agencies I have been
asked by the Lord Chancellor's Parliamentary Secretary to reply to your
question about Next Step issues. The answers to the various points are
given below:

1. The Public Record Office is a separate government department under the
Lord Chancellor and has had its own headquarters building for over 150
years.

2. No additional support staff were required when the office became an
Executive Agency.

3. The only periodical journal that we published is our Readers Bulletin,
at a cost of £4,000 per annum.

4. The Public Record Office has no executive cars.

5. The Public Record Office had a logo specially designed at a cost of
£850.

6. The Public Record Office has no corporate clothing.

7. All office stationery is printed in-house. There is no extra cost for
printing new corporate stationery.

Letter from John Manthorpe to Mr. Gerald Kaufman, dated 26 January 1995 :

Parliamentary Question No. 95/181: Expenditure by Executive Agencies

I have been asked by the Parliamentary Secretary of the Lord Chancellor's
Department to reply to your recent question concerning specific expenditure
items by Executive Agencies.

HM Land Registry was established in 1862, and has continued since, as a
self financing, separate government department directly accountable to the
Lord Chancellor. Its move to Executive Agency status in July 1990 did not,
as a consequence, involve it in any significant expenditure. I can answer
your specific questions as follows:

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(a) The Land Registry's Headquarters
building was acquired in 1913 and paid for under the Land Registry (New
Buildings) Act 1990 at no cost to the Exchequer;

(b) Its Headquarters staff has reduced since the launch of the Agency in
1990;

(c) The only periodical journal produced by the Registry is its internal
staff magazine, introduced in 1986;

(d) The Registry has no executive cars;

(e) The corporate logo was introduced in 1989 following a staff competition
at a cost of £800;

(f) The Registry does not have corporate clothing;

(g) The incorporation of the logo into corporate stationery was achieved at
no extra cost.

I do hope that this answers the points raised with the Parliamentary
Secretary but please contact me if I can be of any further assistance.

The Parliamentary Secretary, of the Lord Chancellor's Department has asked
me to reply to you as part of the Lord Chancellor's Department's response
to your parliamentary question, listed on 19 January 1995, regarding the
cost of establishing Next Step Agencies. The Public Trust Office has not
acquired any additional accommodation as a result of becoming an Agency.

Four extra support posts have been created but the additional cost has been
met from within the PTO's existing budget allocation from efficiency
savings. The creation of these posts in areas such as corporate planning
will further contribute to the efficiency of the Office.

The cost of designing and printing the Framework Document, Corporate and
Business Plans in 1994 (the first year of Agency) was £10,980. The
Corporate and Business Plans will be published annually together with an
annual report. The numbers of these documents required for 1995 is
currently being researched and the cost is not expected to exceed
£5000.

The Public Trust Office does not have any executive cars or corporate
clothing and has not changed its logo.

Existing stocks of stationery were used before fresh supplies were ordered
with a New Agency heading. The cost of altering the headings was negligible
and not separately costed.

Absenteeism

Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's
Department what was the absenteeism rate for (a) the Public Record Office
and (b) the Public Trust Office each year since 1991.

Mr. John M. Taylor: The question concerns a specific operational
matter on which the chief executives of the two agencies are best placed to
provide an answer. I have accordingly asked the chief executives to reply
direct.

The Parliamentary Secretary for the Lord Chancellor's Department has asked
me to reply to part (b) of your question listed on 19 January which
referred to the "absenteeism rate for the Public Trust Office each year
since 1991".

The most recent figures available are as follows:

|Number of |Average sick
|sick days |days per
Year |taken |Staff in post|person
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1993 |10,443 |571 |18.29
1994 |8,930 |561 |15.92
Note:
Prior to 1993 separate statistics for the Public Trust Office were
not maintained.

Letter from Duncan Simpson to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 25 January 1995:

Parliamentary Question: Absenteeism Rate in the Public Record Office since
1991.

I have been asked by the Lord Chancellor's Parliamentary Secretary to reply
to your question about absenteeism rates in the Public Record Office since
1991.

The Public Record Office has interpreted the data using the `lost time
rate' calculation, which is the standard calculation used in public and
private sector organisations for measuring sick absence.

(b) HM Land Registry is a separate executive agency and this question has
been passed to the chief executive for reply. Letter from John Manthorpe to
Mr. David Chidgey, dated 26 January 1995:

Parliamentary Question No. 95/183: Absenteeism Rate in the Land Registry

I have been asked by the Parliamentary Secretary for the Lord Chancellor's
Department to reply to your recent question concerning the absenteeism rate
in HM Land Registry since 1991. I can provide the following information:

-------------
1991 |5.2
1992 |4.8
1993 |4.5
1994 |4.5

I do hope that this answers the point raised with the Parliamentary
Secretary but please contact me if I can be of any further assistance.

Civil Enforcement Agents

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord
Chancellor's Department when he will announce proposals for a review of the
organisation and management of civil enforcement agents, following public

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consultation in 1992; and if he will make a
statement on how these proposals will affect sheriffs.

Mr. John M. Taylor: The public consultation exercise in 1992 raised
a wide range of difficult issues, to which the Lord Chancellor continues to
give consideration. I am not in a position to say when an announcement will
be made or how future proposals will affect sheriffs.

Departmental Staff

Mrs. Maddock: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's
Department how many employees for which his Department is responsible were
women (a) in 1991, (b) in 1992, (c) in 1993 and (d) in 1994; and of these,
how many were (i) at grade 7 level, (ii) at grade 3 level, (iii) at
executive officer level, (iv) at administrative officer level and (v) at
administrative assistant level.

Mr. John M. Taylor: Details of the number of women employed in the
years 1991 1994 at the relevant grades are set out in the table.

Number of women employed in the Lord
Chancellor's Department
for years 1991-1994 at selected
grades
|1991 |1992 |1993 |1994
--------------------------------------
Grade 3 |0 |0 |0 |1
Grade 7 |45 |51 |64 |78
EO |1,242|1,342|1,441|1,442
AO |3,454|3,608|3,741|3,644
AA |2,187|2,205|2,151|2,054
Note:
(i) The figures given are all at 1st
April of each year, (ii) they include
grade and grade equivalents and (iii)
part-time staff are accounted for on
a headcount basis.